QC gov't takes over botanical garden

by Atom Araullo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City (QC) government on Tuesday took over the 7-hectare property of the Manila Seedling Foundation, Inc. (MSFI), claiming that the latter failed to pay some P40 million pesos in real property taxes.

Elements of the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) and local police swooped into the compound located at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue in the so-called QC North Triangle.

City hall personnel proceeded to padlock the multiple gates of Manila Seedling and restricted the entry of vehicles in the area.

Roger Cuaresma, officer-in-charge of the Security and Intelligence Division of DPOS QC, said the take-over was peaceful and that MSFI management offered no resistance.

Lucito Bertol, Chairman and President of MSFI, is angry at Mayor Herbert Bautista for what he describes as a "totalitarian" take-over. He says the QC government has unilaterally evicted them from the property without an order from the court.

"We have been here for 35 years, ngayon lang nagkaroon ng problema. The truth is, we don't own the land, but we were given a right to use it through Proclamation 1670 in 1977. The land belongs to the National Housing Authority, which was later bought by the QC government in a public auction kung saan sila lang ang bidder, can you believe? We don't owe them any real property taxes," says Bertol.

Bertol also laments the possible fate of the Manila Seedling, one of the few pockets of greenery in the area, if city hall succeeds in taking over. The property is situated in the Quezon City Central Business District (CBD), identified by the city as its future commercial hub.